1.  Introduction

Pizza is one of the world's most adaptable foods. Almost every country and city has found a way to give it a local identity. In Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, Canada, that identity is particularly distinctive.

Known as Regina-style pizza, this local favourite is recognized for its thick, fluffy crust, generous sauce, abundant toppings, substantial layer of cheese, and unusual square-cut slices.

In 1970, four Greek immigrant brothers—George, Gus, John and Tony Kolitsas—opened the first Houston Pizza restaurant on Hill Avenue in Regina. Their approach to pizza helped establish a style that eventually became closely associated with the city itself.

More than five decades later, Regina-style pizza remains a recognizable part of Saskatchewan's food culture.

So, what exactly makes Regina-style pizza different, and how did a family restaurant become associated with an entire city's pizza identity?

Let's explore the story.

2.  What Is Regina-Style Pizza?

Regina-style pizza is a distinctive Canadian pizza style associated with Regina, Saskatchewan.

The pizza typically begins with a relatively thick and fluffy crust. Tomato sauce is added generously, followed by vegetables and substantial quantities of deli meats or other toppings. A generous layer of cheese is then placed over the toppings before the pizza is baked until the surface becomes golden and the cheese develops a browned finish.

One of its most recognizable characteristics is its shape when served.

Although the pizza itself is generally prepared as a round pie, it is traditionally cut into square pieces rather than the triangular slices commonly associated with pizza.

3.  What Makes Regina-Style Pizza Special?

The appeal of Regina-style pizza comes from its generosity.  It is not designed around minimal toppings or an extremely thin crust. Instead, the idea is to create a substantial meal in which the crust, sauce, toppings, and cheese all contribute to the experience.

a.  A Thick, Fluffy Base

The crust provides the foundation for the large quantity of toppings. It is generally thicker and more substantial than a classic New York-style pizza base.  This makes Regina-style pizza particularly filling.

b.  Plenty of Sauce

Sauce is another important component. George Kolitsas, one of the founders, was particularly interested in pizza sauce.

c.  Generous Toppings

Regina pizza is famous for piling toppings onto the crust rather than treating them as a light garnish.  Meat, vegetables, and cheese can form several distinct layers.

d.  Cheese on Top

The cheese is placed over the toppings and baked until it melts and browns.  This creates a characteristic surface that helps hold the toppings together while adding a rich, savoury flavour.

e.  Square-Cut Slices

The square cut is perhaps the easiest visual clue.  A Regina-style pizza may look like an ordinary round pizza before cutting, but the final presentation is very different. The square pieces help support the heavy topping load and make the pizza easy to share.

f.  Popular Regina Pizza Toppings

There is no single mandatory topping combination for every Regina-style pizza. Different restaurants have developed their own recipes and variations.

An example of an old-school all-dressed version associated with Houston Pizza includes mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, salami, onion, ham, back bacon, green pepper, and pineapple.  Other commonly encountered ingredients can include Pepperoni, Sausage, Ham, Salami etc.

Modern restaurants may also provide vegetarian, gluten-free, or pork-free alternatives. Houston Pizza, for example, says it accommodates dietary requirements and offers vegetarian, gluten-free, and pork-free options.

4.  Regina-Style Pizza vs Other Pizza Styles

Regina-style pizza occupies an interesting position in the pizza world.

i.  New York-style pizza is generally known for its relatively thin, flexible crust and large triangular slices that can be folded.

ii.  Chicago deep-dish is substantially deeper and has a structured, pie-like construction.

iii.  Neapolitan pizza focuses on a soft, relatively thin crust, simple ingredients, and high-temperature baking.

iv.  Detroit-style pizza is generally rectangular, thick, and associated with a crisp, caramelized cheese edge.  Regina-style pizza shares some characteristics with thick-crust and pan pizzas, but it has its own combination of features: a round pie, substantial toppings, cheese covering the top, and square-cut portions.

The distinction is not simply thickness. The combination of crust, topping quantity, cheese placement, and square cutting gives Regina-style pizza its recognizable identity.

5.  The Origin of Regina-Style Pizza

The story goes back to the Kolitsas family.

George Kolitsas was born in Greece in 1940 and immigrated to Canada in 1960. Before settling in Regina, he worked in the food industry, including as a chef. He later developed his interest in pizza and experimented with recipes while working at the Kitchener Café in Regina.

The experiments eventually led to the establishment of Houston Pizza.

In 1970, George, Gus, John and Tony Kolitsas opened the first Houston Pizza restaurant on Hill Avenue.  Recent Canadian reporting identifies this restaurant as the starting point of the Regina-style pizza tradition.

The brothers were not simply selling an existing Italian recipe unchanged. They developed a version that suited their market and deliberately went in a different direction from the thinner pizzas becoming popular elsewhere.  That willingness to adapt was an important part of the story.

6.  Success Story of Regina-Style Pizza

The success of Regina-style pizza can be understood through several business principles.

a. A Distinctive Product

The brothers created something that customers could recognize.  Thick crust, lots of toppings, cheese on top, and square slices gave the pizza a personality. 

In business, differentiation matters because consumers need a reason to remember one product instead of another.  The Kolitsas brothers achieved that differentiation through the product itself.

b. Understanding Local Customers

A successful restaurant does not necessarily need to copy what is popular elsewhere.

Regina-style pizza appears to have succeeded partly because it offered a substantial, filling meal suited to local preferences.

The broader lesson is valuable: understand the customer before designing the product.

c. Family Entrepreneurship

The business was built around family participation.  The four brothers worked together, and the family tradition continued into later generations. Houston Pizza's current story describes a new generation of the Kolitsas family continuing the business.

Family businesses can have a major advantage when knowledge, recipes, relationships, and values are transferred across generations.

d. Quality and Value

Houston Pizza's stated philosophy emphasizes quality over price, affordability and value, flavour, customer appreciation, and a warm family atmosphere.  That combination is particularly relevant to restaurant businesses.

A low price alone does not guarantee loyalty. Customers return when they believe the experience consistently delivers value.

e. Consistency

Food businesses depend heavily on repeat customers.  A customer who enjoys a particular pizza expects the next pizza to taste familiar.

Maintaining recipes, ingredients, preparation methods, and service standards can therefore become an important competitive advantage.

f. Expansion Without Losing Identity

The first Houston Pizza opened in Regina in 1970. The business later expanded to other Prairie communities, with the first franchise location opening in Moose Jaw in 1979.  This demonstrates an important scaling principle.

A local business can expand successfully when it can reproduce the product and customer experience without losing what made the original business distinctive.

g. Turning Food into a Brand

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Regina-style pizza story is that the product eventually became associated with the city itself.

Tourism Regina now promotes Regina-style pizza as part of the city's visitor experience, while the style has also inspired merchandise and local cultural references.  That is a major branding achievement.  The brothers were originally selling pizza. 

Over time, the city began selling the idea of Regina-style pizza as part of Regina's identity.

7.  What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the Regina Pizza Story

The story offers useful lessons beyond the restaurant industry.

i.  Create a recognizable difference

A business does not always need a revolutionary invention. A familiar product can become successful when it is presented differently.

ii.  Build around customer needs

The Kolitsas brothers developed a hearty pizza, filling and clearly differentiated from thinner pizza styles.

iii.  Protect the core identity

When expanding, businesses should identify the elements customers associate with the brand and protect them.

iv.  Make quality part of the brand

Quality should not simply be an advertising statement. It needs to be reflected in ingredients, preparation, service, and consistency.

v.  Build a story

Modern customers increasingly connect with brands that have a meaningful history.

The story of four brothers arriving from Greece, building a restaurant, and developing a local food tradition gives Houston Pizza and Regina-style pizza an emotional dimension that a generic pizza brand cannot easily reproduce.

8.  Why Regina-Style Pizza Still Matters

Regina-style pizza demonstrates how immigrant entrepreneurship can contribute to local culture.

The Kolitsas brothers brought their Greek heritage, culinary experience, and entrepreneurial ambition to Canada. Their restaurant business eventually became associated with a distinctly Saskatchewan food tradition.

Houston Pizza's own account describes Mediterranean influences in its menu and emphasizes the continuing role of the Kolitsas family.

The story also illustrates how food evolves.   Pizza may have originated in Italy, but its development did not stop there. New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Windsor, and Regina have all developed recognizable approaches.

This is why pizza is more than just a recipe. It can become a reflection of immigration, business, geography, culture, and consumer preferences.

9.  Conclusion

The Regina-style pizza success story began with four Greek immigrant brothers—George, Gus, John and Tony Kolitsas—who opened Houston Pizza in Regina in 1970.

Their achievement was not simply creating another pizza restaurant.  They helped establish a distinctive local style built around a thick crust, generous sauce, abundant toppings, plenty of cheese, and square-cut slices. Over the decades, that style became deeply associated with Regina and Saskatchewan.

The business lessons are equally important.

The story demonstrates the power of differentiation, customer understanding, consistency, family entrepreneurship, quality, and strong local branding.